Abstract
Recent studies suggest that worry is related to deficient problem-solving ability. This paper presents the relationship between worry and problem solving. Worry was measured with the Worry Domains Questionnaire (Tallis, Eysenck, & Mathews, 1992) and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (Meyer, Miller, Metzger, & Borkovec, 1990); problem solving was assessed with the Social Problem-Solving Inventory (D'Zurilla & Nezu, 1990) and the Problem-Solving Inventory (Heppner & Petersen, 1982); and mood state was evaluated with the Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck, Epstein, Brown, & Steer, 1988) and the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). Subjects were 122 university students. The hypotheses were the following: (1) Worry would be negatively related to problem solving; and (2) cognitive and affective factors would play a more important role than behavioral deficits in limiting problem-solving ability. As both problem-solving scales are multidimensional, regression analyses predicted worry scores from the problem-solving scales. Results show that subscales describing theoretically sound problem-solving behaviors accounted for trivial or no variance in worry scores. On the other hand, even when mood state had been partialed out by hierarchical regression, subscales describing reactions to problematic situations predicted worry scores. Therefore, both hypotheses were confirmed. These results suggest that worry is related to problem orientation (i.e., immediate cognitive-behavioral-affective reactions to problematic situations) but not to problem-solving skills (i.e., articulating goals, generating solutions, making decisions, and implementing and verifying solutions). Clinical implications are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (1987).Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed., rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychiatric Association. (1993).DSM-IV options book: Work in progress. Washington, DC: Author.
Beck, A. T., Epstein, N., Brown, G., & Steer, R. A. (1988). An inventory for measuring clinical anxiety: Psychometric properties.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 893–897.
Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979).Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., & Garbin, M. G. (1988). Psychometric properties of the Beck Depression Inventory: Twenty-five years of evaluation.Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 77–100.
Borkovec, T. D. (1985). Worry: A potentially valuable concept.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23, 481–482.
Borkovec, T. D., & Inz, J. (1990). The nature of worry in generalized anxiety disorder: A predominance of thought activity.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 153–158.
Borkovec, T. D., Wilkinson, L., Folensbee, R., & Lerman, C. (1983). Stimulus control applications to the treatment of worry.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21, 247–251.
Bourque, P., & Beaudette, D. (1982). Etude psychométrique du questionnaire de dépression de Beck auprès d'un échantillon d'étudiants universitaires francophones [Psychometric study of the Beck Depression Inventory with French-Canadian university students].Revue Canadienne des Sciences de Comportement, 14, 211–218.
Brodbeck, C., & Michelson, L. (1987). Problem-solving skills and attributional styles of agoraphobics.Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11, 593–610.
Brown, T. A., Anthony, M. M., & Barlow, D. H. (1992). Psychometric properties of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in a clinical anxiety disorders sample.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 30, 33–37.
Butler, G., Wells, A., & Dewick, H. (1992, June).Differential effects of worry and imagery after exposure to a stressful stimulus. Paper presented at the World Congress of Cognitive Therapy, Toronto, Canada.
Craske, M. G., Barlow, D. H., & O'Leary, T. (1992).Mastery of your anxiety and worry. Albany, NY: Graywind Publications.
Craske, M. G., Rapee, R. M., Jackel, L., & Barlow, D. H. (1989). Qualitative dimensions of worry in DSM-III-R generalized anxiety disorder subjects and nonanxious controls.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 397–402.
Davey, G. C. L. (1993). A comparison of three worry questionnaires.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 51–56.
Davey, G. C. L. (1994). Worrying, social problem-solving abilities, and social problem-solving confidence.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 32, 327–330.
Davey, G. C. L., Hampton, J., Farrell, J., & Davidson, S. (1992). Some characteristics of worrying: Evidence for worrying and anxiety as separate constructs.Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 133–147.
Dugas, M. J., Freeston, M. H., Blais, F., & Ladouceur, R. (1993). Prise de décision et stimuli ambigus chez les personnes souffrant du trouble d'anxiété généralisée et d'inquiétude excessive [Decision making and ambiguous stimuli in people with generalized anxiety disorder and excessive worry].Société Québecoise pour la Recherche en Psychologie: Programme et Résumés des Communications, 16, 62.
D'Zurilla, T. J. (1986).Problem-solving therapy: A social competence approach to clinical intervention. New York: Springer.
D'Zurilla, T. J., & Goldfried, M. R. (1971). Problem solving and behavior modification.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 78, 107–126.
D'Zurilla, T. J., & Nezu, A. M. (1990). Development and preliminary evaluation of the Social Problem-Solving Inventory.Psychological Assessment, 2, 156–163.
Freeston, M. H., Ladouceur, R., Gagnon, F., Thibodeau, N., & Rhéaume, J. (1994). L'Inventaire d'Anxiété de Beck: Propriétés psychométriques d'une traduction française [The Beck Anxiety Inventory: Psychometric properties of a French translation].L'Encéphale, XX, 47–55.
Freeston, M. H., Rhéaume, J., Letarte, H., Dugas, M. J., & Ladouceur, R. (in press). Why do people worry?Personality and Individual Differences.
Heppner, P. P., & Petersen, C. H. (1982). The development and implication of a personal problem-solving inventory.Journal of Counseling Psychology, 29, 66–75.
Ladouceur, R., Freeston, M. H., Dumont, J., Letarte, H., Rhéaume, J., Gagnon, F., & Thibodeau, N. (1992). Penn State Worry Questionnaire: Validity and reliability of a French translation.Canadian Psychology, 33, 236.
Ladouceur, R., Freeston, M. H., Gagnon, F., Thibodeau, N., & Dumont, J. (1992, June).Cognitive-behavioral treatment of obsessional thoughts. Communication presented at the World Congress of Cognitive Therapy, Toronto, Canada.
Laporte, L., Sabourin, S., & Wright, J. (1988). L'Inventaire de Résolution de Problèmes Personnels [The Personal Problem-Solving Inventory].International Journal of Psychology, 23, 569–581.
Metzger, R. L., Miller, M. L., Cohen, M., Sofka, M., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Worry changes decision making: The effect of negative thoughts on cognitive processing.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46, 78–88.
Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 487–495.
Nezu, A. M. (1986). Negative life stress and anxiety: Problem solving as a moderator variable.Psychological Reports, 58, 279–283.
Nezu, A. M., & Carnevale, G. J. (1987). Interpersonal problem solving and coping reactions of Vietnam veterans and posttraumatic stress disorder.Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 155–157.
Nezu, A. M., & D'Zurilla, T. J. (1989). Social problem solving and negative affective conditions. In P. C. Kendall & D. Watson (Eds.),Anxiety and depression (pp. 285–315). San Diego: Academic Press.
Nezu, A. M., Nezu, C. M., & Perri, M. G. (1989).Problem-solving therapy for depression: Theory, research, and clinical guidelines. New York: Wiley.
Nezu, A. M., & Perri, M. G. (1989). Social problem-solving for unipolar depression: An initial dismantling investigation.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57, 408–413.
Platt, J. J., & Spivack, G. (1975). Unidimensionality of the Means-Ends Problem-Solving (MEPS) procedure.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 31, 15–16.
Pruzinsky, T., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Cognitive and personality characteristics of worriers.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 507–512.
Tallis, F., Eysenck, M., & Mathews, A. (1991). Elevated evidence requirements and worry.Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 21–27.
Tallis, F., Eysenck, M., & Mathews, A. (1992). A questionnaire for the measurement of nonpathological worry.Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 161–168.
Vallerand, R. J. (1989). Vers une méthodologie de validation transculturelle de questionnaires psychologiques: Implications pour la recherche en langue française [Toward a transcultural validation methodology of psychological questionnaires: Implications for French language research].Psychologie Canadienne, 30, 662–680.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Parts of these data were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (AABT), Atlanta, Georgia, November 1993. The research described in this article was financially supported by grants from the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (930684-104) and the Medical Research Council of Canada (MA12259).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dugas, M.J., Letarte, H., Rhéaume, J. et al. Worry and problem solving: Evidence of a specific relationship. Cogn Ther Res 19, 109–120 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02229679
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02229679